U.S. support for safety net policies up during the pandemic

Public support for social safety net policies went up during the early days of the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak, finds a study published in December in AJPH.

From April 7-13, researchers fielded a representative online survey of nearly 1,500 U.S. adults, asking about support for 11 safety net policies, including two weeks of paid sick leave, universal health insurance, increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 and providing a universal basic income.

Among respondents, 77% supported paid sick leave, and a majority supported universal health insurance and a hike in the minimum wage. Overall, public support for an active government role to improve people’s lives had gone up by 10 percentage points since September 2019, according to the study. All of the unemployment policies garnered majority support as well, including expanding unemployment insurance and public spending on construction projects.

Fewer than half of respondents supported policies such as single-payer health insurance and publicly funded leave to care for a sick family member.

“As unemployment rates soar, many U.S. adults have experienced the dual blows of job loss and health insurance loss,” researchers wrote. “As the rapidly escalating economic crisis requires additional governmental responses, ongoing tracking of public opinion on policy can provide some direction for policymakers.”

[Author contact: Colleen L. Barry, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. “Public Support for Social Safety-Net Policies for COVID-19 in the United States, April 2020”]